Man in custody after Mishawaka standoff; children safe

January 03, 2008|By ELLEN BALL Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA Â? The standoff on MishawakaÂ?s south side has ended. A little after 5 a.m. today, members of the St. Joseph County SWAT team entered the home of a 26-year-old man in the Village Green mobile home community after creating a diversion at the rear of the home, according to Mike Samp, assistant chief of police in Mishawaka. James E. Hodges Jr., of the 1400 block of Marblehead Drive, was arrested on charges of criminal confinement and child endangerment. The two children with him for the duration of it were safe, Samp said. The children are a boy, 3, and a girl, 4.

Samp said Matt Smith, a hostage negotiator with Mishawaka police, did "an outstanding job" in talking to Hodges, who at first communicated with police via cell phone.

He then refused to talk, Samp said. Authorities, who were aware Hodges had guns, wanted to keep the lines of communication open rather than enter the home forcibly, the chief said.

Samp said he eventually got on the public address system in an effort to talk to Hodges, who still refused. So police brought in his significant other, who pleaded with him on the PA system to end the standoff.

"We were deeply, deeply concerned with the two kids inside" and the police officers outside, who at this point had endured temperatures hovering just above zero for several hours, Samp said.

The standoff began about 12:45 a.m., Samp said, when a call came in for a welfare check. Officers responded to that location and approached the trailer, but heard the sound of a round being chambered into a shotgun.

Police evacuated neighbors near the home in the Village Green community, near Elm and Harrison roads, as it remained surrounded and Hodges refused to surrender.

"It's a basic standoff," Mishawaka Police Chief Ken Witkowski told the Tribune. "He won't come out, and there are a couple of children inside."

Witkowksi said about four or five neighboring homes had been evacuated.

Mishawaka emergency medical services and other team members, including South Bend officers, began assembling between 1:15 and 1:45 a.m. Tactical team members were staging at the nearby Fraternal Order of Police building.

Witkowski said he did not believe the children had been directly threatened.

Three hostage negotiators were on site, including two from Mishawaka Police Department and one from St. Joseph County's as part of a joint tactical team.

Among those evacuated from Marblehead Drive, Robert Davis said his family was ushered to safety just before 3 a.m. As other families with small children were escorted to the FOP hall, Davis told Tribune photojournalist Greg Swiercz he had lived in the home just a few months and was concerned about neighbors' safety.

For further updates on this developing story, check back with SBT24/7 News at southbendtribune.com or with our newsgathering partners at WSBT-TV and WSBT Radio News.